2. Masthead
The masthead is placed behind the main image, which
makes the cover look more realistic (and 3-
dimensional to an extent), because it makes the reader
feel as if the person – being Skepta in this case – is
actually standing in front of the logo, but it is also big
enough to still be recognised and the main elements of
the logo are still quite clearly visible (being the two
triangles and the circled ‘R’), so the magazine identity
is still noticeable, making this masthead both creative
and effective.
In addition to this, the masthead is red which catches
the audience’s eye easily as it placed against a
background with a dark blue gradient, so it sticks out
and becomes very loud and in-your-face, which is
coincidently similar to a lot of the artists that are
featured in RWD magazines.
RWD Magazine: Skepta – Issue 107 – January 2011
3. Colour Scheme
The colour scheme for this music magazine cover is
dark blue and red, which give off the feeling of a club
night in Soho or a live performance, as there is a red
light being shone at Skepta from the left. This also
adds to the realistic effect of the cover as can make the
reader feel as if they are there with him, in a concert or
something similar.
This colour scheme is quite simplistic and effective at
the same time as the red brings more attention to
specific things (masthead, cover lines, etc.) that
require more attention than others, whereas the dark
blue, mainly used as a background colour, allows
colours to be seen more clearly and easily.
RWD Magazine: Skepta – Issue 107 – January 2011
4. Main Image
The main image shows a medium shot of the UK
Grime artist, Skepta, who makes has a direct address
with the reader in order to develop some sort of
intimacy and to evoke some sort of feeling, but I,
personally, don’t think that it was a success in this
case because he looks quite emotionless, which doesn’t
reflect the feeling of the magazine well. Also, as I said
before, we see him standing in front of the logo which
is a creative tool that magazines sometimes use. I
believe this has been done to make the magazine feel
slightly three-dimensional as it actual looks as if
Skepta is standing in front of the logo, but behind the
cover lines. This makes the magazine cover a tad more
exciting and interesting.
RWD Magazine: Skepta – Issue 107 – January 2011
5. Cover Lines (1/2)
The cover lines are quite unconventional in this case
because they only show the names of the artist’s
featured within the magazine; there is no insight as to
what the articles may be about, except for the main
cover line in the bottom-right. I believe that this is
element is very hit-and-miss because it becomes more
of the reader’s choice to either buy and read the
magazine, or put the magazine down and walk away,
based on their musical preference. On the other hand,
I do believe that it is a good idea for the reason that,
being that RWD magazine is quite popular amongst its
target audience, the cover lines are more likely to suit
the musical preference of the reader, which will excite
them as they would want to see what exactly is written
about the musician, resulting in them buying it and
increase the amount of commercial and critical
success for the magazine.
RWD Magazine: Skepta – Issue 107 – January 2011
6. Cover Lines (2/2)
We can also see that the where it says ‘+NICKI MINAJ
Exclusive’ has been made to be a focus point as it is
bold and the only thing on the magazine cover is the
same as the masthead, which is one of the main
focuses. I believe this is because, Nicki Minaj being a
famous international rap artist, it is probably very
hard to have her featured in your magazine but, being
that this magazine is an urban magazine, RWD’s
target audience would be thrilled to read about her
and to hear what she has to say. Based on this, this
cover line has been made distinct so that the reader
can see that something which is very hard for UK
magazines to do, has been done by them, making this
magazine ‘better’ than the other UK urban magazines.
RWD Magazine: Skepta – Issue 107 – January 2011
7. Masthead (1/2)
This masthead is also placed behind the main image to
make it look like part of the background, which is
meant to in a classroom location. This masthead is
quite different compared to most logos of music
magazines because it is more of a symbol/emblem
than an actual logo, which is good because the fact
that it is red against a white background, attention is
already drawn to it without it being too in-your-face.
On the other hand, if it was a detailed and complex
logo, it would’ve just blended in with the background
and made the cover seem more cluttered than it
already is.
XXL: 2011’s Freshman Class: 4th Annual Freshman Issue: April 2011
8. Masthead (2/2)
In contrast to this, I do think that it could confuse
someone who is new to the magazine or have never
heard of it. I say this because it provides the reader
with no hints whatsoever as to what the actual
magazine is about, both in the actual name of the
magazine and the logo design. This indicates that the
reader must already know about the XXL magazine
and what they do, or will have to find out from either
the main image and/or the covers.
XXL: 2011’s Freshman Class: 4th Annual Freshman Issue: April 2011
9. Colour Scheme
There isn’t really a specific consistent colour scheme
in my opinion, as the cover is mainly based on the
photograph. The colours white, black and red is as
consistent as it gets with this cover – mainly seen in
the XXL logo and the artists, Meek Mill and YG – but I
think that this is mainly based on pure chance as some
of the artists just randomly decided to wear red for
that shoot, where as some other artists decided to
wear clothes with other colours (for example, Big
K.R.I.T and Mac Miller are both wearing black and
yellow, with no sign of red).
I do think that this has added to the cluttered feeling
of the cover and made it a bit difficult for the reader to
have a main focus point – even though all the artists
are making direct address and all the cover lines and
most of the cover lines can be seen quite clearly.
XXL: 2011’s Freshman Class: 4th Annual Freshman Issue: April 2011
10. Main Image (1/2)
The main image shows a long shot of a group of
artists, set in a classroom-type setting to acknowledge
and accentuate the planned theme of this magazine –
being that it is the XXL 4th annual freshman issue. It
shows the different artist portraying different
character types that are commonly found in a typical
American classroom, or any classroom in that matter,
from Yelawolf standing bold and proud whilst aiming
a sling shot suggesting that he is the prankster of the
class, to Diggy Simmons sitting at the desk with his
sunglasses on and a laid-back facial expression
suggesting that he is the cool kid in the class.
XXL: 2011’s Freshman Class: 4th Annual Freshman Issue: April 2011
11. Main Image (2/2)
I do think that this is a good and simplistic idea as it is
in direct relation to the theme of this magazine issue,
but in contrast to this, I don’t think that it was
executed in the best possible way. It makes the cover
seem too cluttered which has the possibility to easily
confuse the reader, and make them lose interest in the
magazine as a whole. On the other hand, this cluttered
feeling could be the feeling that they are trying to
evoke in the reader, as they might want to make the
class seem like a noisy and unruly one, in which case,
a cluttered magazine cover would be ideal but this idea
is a big hit-and-miss one and can be pulled off if
executed properly.
XXL: 2011’s Freshman Class: 4th Annual Freshman Issue: April 2011
